Odisha to roll out pharma and MedTech policy; provide 40% subsidy

Odisha Government is targeting to attract pharmaceutical investments and has readied a new pharmaceuticals and medical devices policy with a slew of incentives including up to 40 percent subsidy on capital investment with no upper cap on the size of investment.

“We want to make a beginning in the pharmaceutical sector in view of the huge potential for developing manufacturing clusters. The new policy will roll out a red-carpet for investors with highly competitive incentives including 30 to 40 percent capital investment subsidy on plant and machinery,” Hemant Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary, Industry & I&PR, Government of Odisha said.

The new policy will be launched along with two new pharma clusters on a Pharma Conclave 2025 being organised by the State Government in Bhubaneswar.

Apart from 100 percent exemption in land conversion charges and concessional power supply for industries and exemptions in SGST, a new feature in the upcoming policy, probably a first of its kind, is a wage subsidy for the skilled workers which could go up to ₹12,500 per person, Sharma said.

“We have estimated that the concessions we are going to offer can lead to up to 2 percent increase in EBITDA of a company on an average,” Sharma said, adding the main target of the Government for now were mid-sized companies which could invest up to Rs 500 crore engaged in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Pharma conclave
The State Government will also formally launch two pharma clusters in the Pharma Conclave to be attended by the representatives of pharma and med-tech companies from across the country.

A 1000-acre pharma cluster is developed between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on NH 16 while an exclusive 250 acre land is earmarked at the Electronic City near the State Capital. In addition, an exclusive zone for Export Oriented Units will be offered near Tata Group’s SEZ, the official said.

“We will be offering many facilities including water, power, effluent treatment plant, testing laboratories and also hostel facilities for the workers and staff as part of our efforts to adopt a broad-based policy that caters to all requirements of the industry,” Sharma said.

Odisha has many natural advantages for industries including the coastline and facility of ports and also connected to major markets by the road and rail. “In line with the vision of the Government of India, we believe in the potential for the pharma and medical devices industry in more locations across the country including Odisha and identified it as one of our priorities in industrial promotion,” he added. The Hindu Business Line